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LEED

In the movie “Talladega Nights” the main character, Ricky Bobby, prefers to have his arm broken rather than to admit that he likes crepes. He confesses a love for thin, tasty pancakes but conceding to liking something called a “crepe” is just too much for him to handle. Why? Probably the same reason I walk past and ignore the “non-fat” items in a grocery store. Because words matter and they elicit positive and negative reactions due to the perceptions they words imply.

I have seen similar reactions among some logistics professionals when discussing Green Warehousing. Immediately their minds race to expensive facility changes, re-training, and yet another process or program that they will be required to certify and track. What some of those professionals may not realize is that the elements emphasized in green warehousing are the same principles they have practiced their entire career, albeit under a different name. Making your facility green may not require a drastic transformation in your mindset, simply a re-labeling of your activities, taking it one step further, and then taking credit.

Remember when Tom Hanks was in comedies? Ah, good. I see a few hands at the back. One of his most famous was “Big.” You know the one. Little boy makes a wish at a penny arcade machine to be an adult and wakes up as Tom Hanks, who then gets a job at a toy company.

In the film, Hanks is in a meeting where this guy is pitching a line of transforming toys that turn from skyscrapers into robots. Hanks tells the guy the idea is boring because no kid wants to play with a building. Now, I don’t know if what I’m about to say makes UPS boring or geeky, but we really enjoy playing with buildings. There’s a lot of stuff you can do with them. In fact, we’ve been playing with our corporate office since it was built in Atlanta, Ga., in 1994.

Our corporate office, despite being almost 20 years old, has earned Gold Status certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as well as the Energy Star stamp of approval for energy efficiency. You might wonder how a two-decade-old structure could hope to stay ecologically friendly. Well, let me give you the Behind the Music treatment on this one.